This disclosure is to an improved vortex tube for use in separating an immiscible liquid component from a gas stream and more particularly for a system and a method of operating a system for separating liquid components from a gas stream. An example of an application of the invention is for separating entrained water from a natural gas stream.
The subject of the invention generally relates to gas/liquid separators or gas/liquid/solid separators. Separators of this type are typically process vessels that may be at atmospheric or above atmospheric pressures. The main function of the separator system is to segregate immiscible phases of the process stream such as when the process stream is the form of a gas, such as natural gas that carries with it an immiscible liquid component. The function of the separator of this invention is to separate out the liquid component to provide at the output of the separator a gas stream that is relatively free from entrained liquids.
Separators for separating liquid components from a gas stream are commonly utilized in the oil and gas industry, specifically in oil and gas production, oil refining and gas processing. While very commonly utilized in the oil and gas industry, separators of this type are also used in the mining industry, chemical plants, water treatment facilities, pulp and paper plants and pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities. Separators can be designed to separate a two-phase stream—that is, a vapor/liquid stream or a three-phase stream—that is, a vapor/organic liquid/aqueous stream or a four-phase stream—that is, a vapor/organic liquid/aqueous liquid/solids stream.
Separation of immiscible components of the stream usually and ultimately depend on the force of gravity. Gravity can be either natural gravity—that is, the pull of objects towards the center of the earth or created gravitational forces such as represented by centrifugal separators. Natural gravity is usually used by flowing a stream having immiscible components into a vessel which provides a quiescent zone—that is, a relatively undisturbed environment that allows gravity to act on heavier components of the stream and move them into a downward part of the vessel. This movement has the counteraction of the lighter components of the stream migrating to an upward part of the vessel. In this way, the heavier components—that is, liquids, can be withdrawn from the lower part of the vessel and the lighter components—that is, gases, withdrawn from an upper part of the vessel.
Another type of gravitational separator utilizes artificial gravity attained by centrifugal force. One way of generating artificial gravity is by the use of a vortex tube. A vortex tube is typically an elongated tube having a cylindrical interior wall that is preferably vertically mounted or at least mounted with a vertically downward tangent. Adjacent an upper end of the vessel is an inlet opening into the vortex tube, the inlet being arranged so that fluids flowing therein tangentially intersect the interior wall of the vortex tube and flow around the interior wall thereby creating centrifugal force that is applied to the components, the centrifugal force serving to move the heavier component—that is, the liquid component, towards the wall of the vortex tube while the lighter component is forced towards the interior of the vortex tube. In a typical vortex tube the gas is withdrawn from an upper central vortex opening while the liquid component is withdrawn from a liquid outlet in the bottom portion of the vortex tube. The invention herein pertains to improvements to vortex tubes and to methods of using the improved vortex tubes for separation of immiscible components of a gas stream.
For background information relating to the general subject matter of this invention reference may be had to the following previously issued United States patents:
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